The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Jharkhand Mining Secretary Pooja Singhal in connection with money laundering case for allegedly embezzling MGNREGA funds in the State.
The agency had earlier summoned Ms. Singhal for questioning at its Ranchi office. The statement of her husband, Abhishek Jha, was also recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), after the ED arrested Chartered Accountant Suman Kumar following seizure of about ₹18 crore in cash during the searches last week.
The ED’s probe is based on 16 cases and the respective chargesheet filed by the State’s vigilance bureau, alleging MGNREGA funds fraud. During its investigation, the agency also filed chargesheet against the then junior engineer, Ram Binod Prasad, who in his statement alleged that he had paid a cut to the district administration.
From 2007 to 2013, Ms. Singhal was posted as a District Collector/District Magistrate in Jharkhand’s Chatra, Khunti and Palamu.
According to the agency, the bank accounts of Ms. Singhal and her husband had cash deposits to the tune of ₹1.43 crore during the check period. She allegedly bought 13 life insurance policies from 2005-06 till 2012-13 and paid ₹80.81 lakh as premium. The policies were closed prematurely and about ₹84.44 lakh received by the accused.
The ED alleges that Ms. Singhal transferred over ₹16 lakh to three accounts linked to the Chartered Accountant from May 2015 to September 2017. While seeking his remand, it had accused him of withholding information about the sources of the cash seized from his premises.
